


Prevail

by yongiedream (taeyongdreams)



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Assassins, Attempted Murder, Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Murder, Pirates, Royalty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:55:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26679334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taeyongdreams/pseuds/yongiedream
Summary: pre·vail/prəˈvāl/verbprove more powerful than opposing forces; be victorious.========================================================Young Prince Seonghwa escapes his tyrant of a father, only to be rescued by the infamously feared pirate, Captain Hongjoong,
Relationships: Seongjoong - Relationship, Woosan - Relationship, Yungi - Relationship, jongsang - Relationship
Comments: 35
Kudos: 145





	1. solitude

The last petal of the rose fell leaving the water of the vase depressingly dirty and milky. The prince frowned at the sight, as he glanced out the window behind where the vase called home. The sun would cascade through the glass pane, giving the flowers he placed there sunlight. Large bushes had grown outside of it though, so nothing could clearly be seen aside from the sky and fluffy white cotton balls known as clouds. 

A knock came from his door, and he frowned. Moving away to open it and be greeted by the sight of one of his many maids. She gave a gentle smile, filled with a pity he was far too familiar with. “Evening Prince Seonghwa,” She said in a cheery voice, bowing before pushing a tray of food out to the prince, he gave a gentle smile in return and took the food. Placing it on his white painted wooden desk near the door. 

“Has father allowed for me to leave yet?” He asked, the seventeen-year-old had a hope in his eyes which sparkled, like when sunlight hits something precious. But the maid shook her head, feeling guilt for assisting with the King locking up his son for months on end. She rubbed her arm, before apologizing quietly and locking the door to the prince’s room. The sound of the click of a lock was familiar at this point, this is the longest his punishment had ever gone on for. Six months. He had been locked in the room for six months, speaking only to the maids every now and then for when he needed food, or for his clothing to be cleaned. Other than that, he had found himself lonely, slowly losing his sanity. Tears filled his chocolate orbs as he sat down at his desk. Eating the food, wishing his hunger strike from a few months prior had worked and not have landed him in the infirmary. His father was not one for any form of protest, a tyrant, a dictator. As soon as Seonghwa chose to rebel to the solitude for even a moment, he could only recall waking up in a starchy cream-colored hospital gown with dried blood on his abdomen, emphasizing the dark black and blue bruises. Aside from a few cuts and bruises, his face had been avoided, the parts which can more easily be hidden were most definitely damaged, however. Internal bleeding had even been an issue for a bit before he was given the proper medicinal help to deal with the issue. 

To keep the prince’s face pretty, was the job of a king who cared for his reputation. But that would not stop his discipline from being harsh. Seonghwa was sure that if the kingdom cared less about his existence, his father would have killed him by now. He wasn’t even worth that much trouble, but any slight inconvenience was enough to warrant a public execution in his father’s eyes. 

The prince ate a bit of his food out of the need to eat, rather than a desire to, before transitioning to drawing in his sketchbook. Drawing the dead flowers, hoping the castle gardener would think of him and give him fresh cut roses. Typically, however, he would sit with his dead roses for a few weeks before a fresh delivery was made. He wasn’t too memorable and thus people remembered him at the bare minimum for food, and nothing else. If a fire was to start, they surely would evacuate and only remember after the fact that the prince was locked in his room. 

Even so, the peasants cared deeply for their prince because even though it were only rumors that he was locked away, they found themselves believing it and resonating with the feeling of entrapment. His father wasn’t kind, forcing high taxes, and ruled with an iron fist causing everyone to live in fear. Thus, they sought comfort in hoping that if the prince was experiencing injustice just as they are, that he was closer to getting them out of their predicament. If only it was that simple. He was just as stuck as they are, but hope was better than nothing, even if it was false and fleeting. 

A rough knock came from the door, igniting the young prince’s fight or flight instantly, his knuckles became a milky white as he tightly held onto the edge of his desk. Wishing he could hide, but he would be found, he always was. The lock clicked and the door was open, frame filled by a figure who wore all black, contrasting Seonghwa’s all white with the occasional gold details. “Heard you spoke to the maid this morning.” The man grunted, the crown was unbefitting for a man of his temperament. A royal with such aggression, such hatred in a stone-cold heart was no royal in the eyes of the prince, even if it was his father. 

Silence filled the room, as Seonghwa didn’t turn his head to look at the man in time. He knew better, but a sort of rebellion had overtaken him, and thus he had hesitated to look at his father. He regretted it, for a firm kick was placed to the freshly healed torso, causing the brunette to double over in pain and tumble to his wooden floor. His eyes looking up at the king who stood over him, hatred in his eyes for the son he had brought into this world. “Just like your mother, a bitch,” The man scoffed at his weak son who held his stomach, tears running down his cheeks already, “This confinement is for your own good, you chose to be a rebel and therefore you get to be treated like one too, no speaking to anyone because though you may be prince you may as well as be a peasant.” 

Seonghwa readied himself for another beating but instead was met with nothing causing him to open his tightly shut eyes. Looking at his father with a growing fear of what he was planning. “The kingdom is starting to think of you as just a myth,” the man smirked, causing the prince’s heart to drop into his stomach. No no, his memory couldn’t be forgotten. Without that, he was as good as dead. The prince went to rise, but he was kicked to the ground again, his body dropping with a loud thud as his hatred for his maid grew. She was the one who informed his father, why look with pity only to tattle to his father. 

The man left shortly after that, leaving the prince to sit with the fact that his death was coming. When? That was a mystery for obvious reasons, not like Seonghwa had a calendar to understand what day it was, or track how long until his execution. He missed his mom, she was a comfort in his father’s ruthless rulings. She died in the dungeons after standing up for the prince many years ago, he had been just a child when the beatings started after all and his mother though quiet, was fine when it came to her but not her child. 

“Have you heard of the prince’s execution?” A voice stated as they walked past his door. Surely his door had reminded the owner of the voice of his melancholy fate. 

“Mhm, it’s coming soon. I can’t help but feel a share of his blood is on our hands, but it’s better him than us,” another voice mumbled, surely in reply to the previous question. 

Sick to his stomach, he rose from where he lay on the floor and walked over to the window where the roses reside, clutching his stomach as the pain increased with the seconds passing. How much longer did he have? Was escape even a feasible idea? He had nowhere to go, to escape would prolong his death sure, but not for very long. 

Even so, the brunette glanced down at his slightly dirtied cream-colored blazer, with its custom floral detailing on it done in a very light brown color making it not noticeable from afar. The lapels containing golden appliques. He had no other clothes seeing as they were exchanged only on laundry days. He looked about the room for anything he could use to break the glass window. He had to use the sunset as an advantage, entering his bathroom to grab his wastebasket, because most of his other items were either too small, fragile, or weak. If he was desperate enough, he could've used his fist but the wastebasket was a much better idea than self-injury. 

He watched as the sun said it's goodbye, and a darkness blanketed the Earth, the moonlight laying upon his features as he raised the white wastebasket, and hit it against the window, nothing coming out of the action causing his eyebrows to furrow. "Stay hopeful," he whispered, raising the wastebasket another time, shutting his eyes and hitting it against the glass with a lot more force. The force of the flickering rebellious spirit held within him, so subtle that he may as well be an obediently trained dog at this point. 

Even so, the glass shattering caused his eyes to open, as shards grazed his skin, and the cold Spring breeze hit him. He breathed it in, wanting to cry from how good it felt. Escape was no longer an idea, it was essential. The prince rose his leg to climb on top of his dresser, stepping outside the window upon doing so. The drop wasn't too bad but still higher than his brain would prefer, even so he let himself go. Air making his hair go up, as gravity pulled him down and he fell to the grass, wincing from the drop. Dirt now stained his clothes, causing him to cringe. 

He limped forward, irritated that he had sustained a minimal yet detrimental injury from the fall. He made his way to the end only to be greeted with the gigantic wall causing him to want to scream out in fury. 'Let me free! Let me free!!' He cried inside his head, hearing the running of the guards from within the castle, his absence had been discovered. He walked to the right, hoping he would be greeted with the entrance, he was. But guards crowded it, to stop their precious prince from escaping his death sentence. 

This is the end, he couldn't help but think. Why did he even bother? He didn't want to die, he wanted to live and see the world. He despised the confinement, the pain, the loneliness, but there was no time to breakdown over his misfortunes. Instead, he waited, watching as the guards conversed before being instructed by another guard to search the castle for the prince. Had they not seen the broken window? Surely outside would be a more obvious place to look. They probably had an equal amount inside as they did outside, meaning he only had seconds before being caught. 

Heart beating out of his chest, he watched as the guards turned to speak to one another once again, feeling the prince would surely be caught before reaching the gates. He sprinted past them with an adrenaline rush he surely had never experienced to this level. Their reaction was slightly delayed due to their guards being down, giving the prince a headstart as he sprinted, his legs carrying him far enough to have a bit of an advantage against the guards. Hot tears soaked his face as he begged to make it, his legs ached, his injury would only wait so long before forcing him to collapse to the cobblestone ground. 

A peasant boy witnessed the prince, his eyes sparkling as he moved the bread cart of his father just enough to become an obstacle for the royal guard. Seonghwa hadn't noticed the action, but if he had, would've thanked the boy a thousand times over. Looking around for a few seconds, he pushed his way into a tavern. A rough bunch of faces looking him up and down, he begged they would give him mercy. He fell to his knees, "Please hide me," he begged, "I do not have much, but I am afraid I am going to be killed if you do not."

The gathering of rogues laughed at the pretty boy, "A rich fella like yourself? Don't make us laugh boy. We save you, and we are good as dead ourselves. But...if we hold you for a bit we could make a bit of money." 

Seonghwa felt like a deflated balloon, a cruel fate had been pinned upon him from birth, why had even bothered trying to escape it. He nodded, "At least you will find happiness in your lives by doing so," he calmly stated, finding himself roughly dragged into the back by a fellow who had long blond hair in the back, falling down to his shoulders. His face was mainly hidden by a black mask, he sat the prince down. 

"Don't worry boys, I'll tie him up real good," the voice stated roughly, earning a cheer from the drunk men. 

Seonghwa allowed silence to become his friend, though for over a decade it had been his enemy. The blond mulleted rogue glanced at him, reaching into one of the pockets of his heavy all-black outfit, before pulling out a mask and placing it on the prince. 


	2. captain hongjoong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world outside the castle awaits the innocent prince and adds a twinkle to his beautiful curiosity-filled eyes, but with freedom comes the life of being a fugitive and the harshness of reality.

A door could be heard from not too far away being opened along with the sound of heavy boots.

"If you damn pirates have seen the prince you better fess up now or death will find you all. You know King Park doesn't like waiting." 

The pirates have a laugh at the guards who had Seonghwa shaking, the stranger who had placed a mask on him calmly whispered to him a firm yet kind: "Calm down." 

"Sorry Chief, we haven't seen the lad. Pretty one isn't he? I'm sure even my drunk eyes would see him," one laughed, causing the chief to grumble angrily about the pirates. He'd have them killed for their crimes in a few days' time if they didn't leave, pirates weren't around very long in the kingdom for that reason. 

The stranger listened to the sound of the heavy footsteps leaving, deciding it would be a waste to check the tavern. The prince was too much of a coward to enter such a place reeking of alcohol, little did they know, it wasn’t cowardice but ignorance. Seonghwa didn't know it was the stench of alcohol, nor that pirates would be no help to him. He expected to be helped, no questions asked but that's what a good human would do. But unbeknownst to the prince, good humans are rare to come across. Yet, even so, he had a stroke of luck to meet the mulleted stranger. 

"Let's go," The stranger demanded, holding Seonghwa's hand and dragging him out the exit of the tavern, thankful the rogues were too drunk and low ranking to care if he took their prince. His hand was warm, and for someone who hadn't touched another person in so long, Seonghwa found himself happy just for the small interaction the two were sharing. The two men went through the back alleyways which weren't flooded with guards yet, out towards the port which Seonghwa had never seen, only heard of in passing. 

Just as his mother had described, the exterior world was beautiful. The scents, the sights, the feelings that overwhelmed the prince had him internally squealing in delight. Even if it all came to a close now, he would be happy because he would've died knowing about the world beyond his prison. The stars twinkled above him as the scent of the salty ocean calmed him. The stranger looked back at the royal behind him, questioning his sanity a bit. 

He was assisting a prince in escaping from a tyrant of a king, he surely would find his head under a blade for this. The pirate sighed quietly, those doe eyes pulled him in like nothing else. The desperation in them, the fear, and innocence burned all self-control he thought he had, and now had led him to showing the gorgeous prince onto his gigantic dark wooden ship. The sails up and anchor down as he was in port, though not for very much longer. 

“Wow,” Seonghwa audibly whispered, looking at his surroundings in childlike amazement, as he used the hand not held by the stranger to stroke the wooden poles holding up the dock. The waves crashed against the ships docked, and the seafoam dissipated every few seconds. The brunette never wanted to leave this world, the world outside his room. The masked pirate ushered him onto the ship. Though the average person would be filled with questions and terror hoping they aren’t being trafficked or sold for parts, Seonghwa was filled with a bubbly delightful innocence, trusting this mystery man completely. 

The creaking of the floorboards would surely stir the stranger’s crew, even so he ushered the prince into his quarters. “Put on some clothes from that dresser,” he commanded firmly, and before the brunette could speak up, he found himself alone, the stranger shutting the door of the room on the ship. Seonghwa looked around the room, not meaning to be nosy but curiosity filled his body whether he liked it or not. It was his first time outside, and on a ship. Within the room was a full size bed, a table covered with maps which had pen ink all over them, a dresser, and some chests which he assumed were full of items. He grabbed the wooden knob of the top right drawer of the dresser, pulling it open gently before grabbing a black silk shirt with holes where he could loop string through to make it less open cut. With that he pulled out some black pants, the items were a decent fit for the prince (yet noticeably different from his usual size due to typically getting custom fittings). 

“Joong why are we leaving now, the sun hasn’t even risen?” A tired voice asked, peaking the prince’s interest who was carefully unbuttoning his dirty blazer. Folding it and placing it on top of the dresser. 

“Just do as I say Woo,” The stranger who Seonghwa now came to know as Joong muttered in reply. The sound of a chain could be heard as the crew of pirates pulled up the anchor and untied the rope keeping them attached to the dock. White pants were now stripped off, folded, and placed on top of the blazer, along with his white silk undershirt. He carefully put the black clothing on, using a long black cloth as a makeshift belt for the pants. As soon as he finished, he allowed himself to sit on the bed, needing to give his legs a break. His injured leg was sending sharp pains up his spinal cord to his brain, which begged for any sort of relief. Had the fall really been that bad? Seonghwa clutched his chest when he felt the sudden lurch forward of the ship. They were moving! He rose to look at one of the circular windows, only to wince loudly and fall to the dirty wooden floor like an idiot. The sound peaked the attention of Joong who after a few minutes opened the doors of his quarters with panicked eyes, looking for the prince he had rescued. 

“Why are you on the floor?” He sighed softly, wondering how the hell he was going to explain Seonghwa’s existence to the crew. 

With flushed cheeks, Seonghwa picked himself up off the dirty floor, “I um..wanted to look out the window.” The brunette sheepishly looked at the pirate who now wore a black hat which had a red feather sticking out of it. A hand was offered by him to the sheepish prince, who took it with no hesitation, being led out of the place known as the captain’s quarters, to be greeted with a group of six other men. They stared at the pretty man before them in bewilderment, at first they would assume he was just a toy their captain had brought on to have fun with but sensing the tension wafting off of their captain, they were quick to realize this was not the case.

Seonghwa peeled away from Joong instantly to look at the vast ocean surrounding him, his home becoming smaller and smaller. It was too dark to truly appreciate the fact that only the ocean surrounded him, but when morning came he would surely be just even more ecstatic at the sight of total freedom. 

Joong walked over to the prince, grabbing his hand again and escorting him back to where the group stood, most having smug smirks at the sight of their captain babying the man which had to be their age. “As you know, I’m Hongjoong and I am captain of this ship. This is...Mars?” 

Glancing at Hongjoong, the prince was surprised by the sudden nickname but was quick in understanding why. He was a fugitive, of course he had to be careful with his identity. The concept struck him, causing him to frown. This new life came with a lot of baggage, because he was escaping his destiny. His destiny to die just like his mother in his prison. 

“Mars huh? Well, I’m Wooyoung,” a blond spoke up, his hair was much shorter than Hongjoong’s and he had no mask on. Causing him to ponder if he should have his up or not, he simply kept it on because Hongjoong hadn’t ordered him to remove it yet. He didn’t want to upset the man, he owed Joong his life after all. 

Slowly the six men introduced themselves, some saying their position like Yunho, who grinned while explaining that he was the surgeon and overall medic on the ship. His black hair and height threw the prince off at first, for his personality was that of an excited puppy causing the gentle royal to inadvertently smile.

Hongjoong removed his mask, going to the helm of the ship. “Rest!” he shouted to the men who looked at their pretty crewmate who had followed their captain and removed his mask. Not to say it was shocking for such a pretty well mannered individual to be aboard the ship, but it was actually just that. Seonghwa found the gazes which analyzed him a bit terrifying. He was in no way a pirate, he was a prince. Never had he once left home, and now he had been thrust to a rough and tumble life of fighting to get your share and stay alive. A lawless landscape where he would be pursued by various enemies ruthlessly. 

The prince said his goodnights to his new crew members, who decided in unison they would question more when their energy tanks were fuller. He walked to where Captain Hongjoong stood, his hand resting on the wheel of the ship as his gaze stared at the vast darkness before him. 

“Thank you,” Seonghwa said softly, leaning against the side of the ship despite the dangers of it. 

Hongjoong gave a nod, “Why aren’t you going to rest? My quarters are now your quarters, not to say I am giving you preferential treatment because of your royal status, but I think you may need to be educated on your behavior more. You act like a royal, you need to stop that.” 

Rubbing his arm, Seonghwa nodded. “I understand, but please help me in doing so. I have never been outside the castle. This is my first time actually seeing the world outside, talking to someone outside of my maids or parents. I am a quick learner though, thank you for giving me a chance.” Seonghwa bowed to show respect, but Hongjoong waved his hand dismissively. 

“Don’t bow, don’t act so formally. A simple: ‘Thank you for saving my life, I owe you one.’ is fine, alright?” 

The prince smiled, nodding eagerly. Hongjoong wanted to scold him more, encourage him to act tougher but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. He had brought himself into this mess, dealing with the cheerful prince. He found the formality the prince had charming, his whole entire existence was captivating for the man who lived seeing bloodshed and misery wherever he walked. The prince was like a breath of fresh air, the circumstance was simply very unfortunate. King Park was infamous for reasons, and Hongjoong knew the stories of his rulings were fact. And now his son was on his ship, escaping persecution, and he had truly dug himself a hole. 

“Do you know how to fight Ma-.” 

“You can call me Seonghwa surely everyone is asleep?” 

Hongjoong bit his lip while thinking, “No no, too risky. Answer the question.” 

Shaking his head, the prince gave an apologetic smile, “Teach me, I will learn quickly for you!” The prince paused suddenly, his face was someone holding back, and he most definitely was. Cut the formalities, he could do that. If he spoke less, then there was less of a chance of giving himself up as anything but a man who was rescued. “I need a cover story.” 

The two stood, allowing the sea breeze to cause them to shiver. Spring nights were more forgiving than Winter, but due to the transition between such a harsh season and warm one, the nights could go either way. “You are simply the son of a merchant, your father passed and thus I found you homeless and decided to give you a new role in life.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading, and for the love on the first chapter.  
> ~ Jahnessa (twt: @yongiedream / @vampyeosang)


	3. cabin boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All's fair in love and war: Seonghwa begins to learn more about his fellow crewmates, and the life of a pirate.

When morning came, the ship was anchored and Hongjoong lie in his bed beside the prince he found himself protecting. He typically would have a new crew member sleep where the rest of the crew slept, but felt the need to keep Seonghwa safe from the avalanche of interrogative questions he would soon be suffocating in. The prince the night prior had been a blushing mess when the captain convinced him that lying in a bed together was not a big deal. He was tired, so was the prince, and thus they had a mutual agreement. Completely platonic, they both thought to themselves. Seonghwa had his arms wrapped around Joong like a teddy bear, a complete accident that the prince gravitated towards the warmth of the other. A warmth he had never been able to receive aside from the occasional hug he got from his mother when he was a very young child. 

Hongjoong ached, desperately wanting to let the prince sleep in. But he was no softie, not for anyone. So he pulled himself out of the grip of the handsome prince, breathing out quietly, before he shrugged on his heavy jacket, and placed on his hat and mask. “Wake up,” he stated not so quietly, and watched as the breathtaking individual stirred from his rest, grinning when his brown orbs laid themselves on their savior. 

The brunette seemed way too cheery to be up this early in the morning, the captain wasn’t about to crush his spirit though. He appreciated the positivity the prince radiated, and had lacked such an attitude in his life ever since he was young. Hongjoong ensured his mask was covering his lips and nose. All that could be seen at this point was his eyes, piercing brown orbs which intimidated any enemy. He handed Seonghwa a mask, and hat of his own so he could cover his identity if they were to come in contact with any enemies. 

Sliding the door of his quarters to the side, Hongjoong allowed the sun to better enter the room he slept in. Tapping his foot as he waited for the prince to exit so he could slide the door closed again. Thankfully Seonghwa was quick to do so, his feet bringing him to be out on the deck of the ship waving hello to his new crewmates who also had their masks and hats on. It would be a bit difficult to know their names with their identities so hidden. 

“As of today, you are officially our cabin boy Mars. More specifically  _ my _ cabin boy, as that position basically means you are my servant,” Hongjoong explained to the energetic royal, he just knew under that mask there was a cute smile. “You of course will also help everyone else, and learn the trade of being a pirate, but I will be your top priority.” 

Seonghwa indeed was grinning under his mask, “Okay!” he enthusiastically stated watching as his six new friends approached him from their various positions on the ship. One shorter than the prince moved forward, shaking Seonghwa’s hand with a firm grip. 

“Kang Yeosang, first mate and sea artist. We met last night of course, but I feel like a more formal introduction is needed because I am second in command to Hongjoong.” The prince nodded thankfully towards Yeosang, feeling slightly intimidated as the time ticked by and it began to sit with him that these men did not trust him yet. He desperately wanted to make a good impression, but he lacked experience with those outside of his maids and the king. ‘Mother please help me,’ he thought to himself, begging her angel was beside him through all this.

Hongjoong moved closer to the prince, gently placing his hand on the teen’s shoulder. “Today I want you to go with each person at least once and help them out with their duties, I’m sure they will appreciate your help.” He stated, watching as Seonghwa quickly agreed, thankful for Hongjoong’s kindness. Before he could even decide for himself who he would assist first, he was being dragged off by the blond he remembered to be Wooyoung. He seemed to be a mischievous fellow, and though nervousness weighed in Seonghwa’s empty stomach so did eagerness. 

Carefully the two males walked down a set of stairs to the lower deck, causing Seonghwa’s curiosity to take control as he eagerly looked around. Viewing the living quarters, eyes filled with intrigue, but not wanting to be too intrusive he tried to avoid looking at the men’s personal belongings. The beds were decently far enough apart allowing for comfort to be shared. “I need to put a bed down for you, but I don’t have a spare mattress. You could sleep with one of us until we reach a nice kingdom where you can steal one if you wish. Sleeping on the floor isn’t a good idea,” Wooyoung chuckled, feeling eyes on him from the corner of his eye causing him to turn his body away from Seonghwa. 

Seonghwa followed the action of the quartermaster, looking to where a much more muscular man stood staring with cold eyes in the direction of the two. “San, calm down will ya? If you think I am interested in this guy your self esteem is more fragile than I thought,” Wooyoung grumbled in an annoyed tone, watching as his lover’s expression softened and was replaced with one of slight embarrassment. The prince dumbly stared at the two’s interaction, unsure of what he just witnessed and unable to pick up on the context clues placed before him. He kept his mouth shut however, not wanting to overstep his boundaries, and get his ass kicked by some pirates. 

“This is San, he is our ship’s carpenter but deals a lot with the sails too,” Wooyoung stated, “which is what he should be doing now instead of thinking I am going to fuck you,” He muttered, the curse causing a deep blush to rise to the prince’s cheeks for he did not expect the language so suddenly. The two pirates before him were lovers, or maybe he was reading this all wrong. 

An awkward laughter left the prince’s mouth, causing the two newly made acquaintances to stare at him. “You good?” San asked, watching the nod he was given before glancing at Wooyoung once more, turning on his heel and leaving. Wooyoung returned to looking at the beds, and taking mental notes of what Seonghwa needed. He needed to get a bed, he already had clothes from Joong, pirates didn’t necessarily practice good hygiene so he wasn’t concerned about that. In the end, he shrugged, if he needed something they could get it when they got the mattress but for now it was more or less a waiting game. 

“What do you do as quartermaster?” The prince asked, taking the pirate by surprise for he was the one meant to be asking the newbie questions. The sudden question caused him to smirk under his mask, he liked him. He had a certain youth to him Wooyoung thought everyone else in this world had that lost at their age. 

Tapping his fingers along the wooden interior walls of the ship, the pirate pulled down his mask to reveal his wide toothed grin. “Well ya see, the quartermaster has a lot of responsibilities. I distribute work, rations, treasure, and settle fights. When we get treasure, I am the one who protects it until it is sorted to the sev- eight of us. If Yeosang was to die or be unable to take Hongjoong’s place as captain, then that role would fall to me.” 

Listening diligently, Seonghwa nodded in understanding, his mouth going to ask more questions but Woo was quick to beat him to it. The quartermaster was not about to be interrogated by the new cabin boy, it was to be the other way around. 

“Mars is it? Who are you? It’s strange of the captain to have us leave so suddenly after having some new cabin boy joined us don’t you think?” The blond smirked, watching as a panic flashed in the new pirate’s eyes. Not a peep came from the cabin boy however, leaving the blond more suspicious if anything, but it wasn’t like he could beat the boy to force the answers out of him. Hongjoong trusted him, and so of course the whole crew inevitably would too. But that didn’t mean they liked to be in the dark about the details, trust was the key to the relationships held between the group of sea-faring rebels. “I answered your question, isn’t it only fair for you to answer mine?” 

Seonghwa stared at the quartermaster, his airways feeling seemingly cut off as he swallowed quietly, unsure of how to compose himself before someone so domineering. “I am just a cabin boy,” he said softly, “My father died, Hongjoong gave me a second chance in life really.” While his tone was sincere and unwavering, his heart raced and his hands trembled but he did well to put them in the pockets he borrowed from the captain sheltering him. 

Wooyoung’s brows furrowed, clearly thinking the answer was too bare-bones. He wanted more, all he was getting was what he could already infer. “Okay? But why would Hongjoong need us to evacuate so quickly over something like that, you being a simple commoner with a dead father? Did you upset someone, and that is why we are seemingly on the run. Not to mention, most people wouldn’t mess with Hongjoong, so that means we are running from someone with a lot of power, right Mars?” 

The words held a lot of intellect behind them. Seonghwa naturally assumed pirates to be uneducated scoundrels with ignorance coursing through their veins, the pirates he had met and spoke to closely thus far had an air of intelligence in their words on par with those who worked and lived within the castle. 

“I-,” Seonghwa went to open his mouth, but he didn’t even have a feasible lie, good enough for Wooyoung to accept. Anything less than believable would surely not slip its way past the blond quartermaster. Their interaction was cut short by a tall man with dark brown hair looking at them intensely. With him the tension rose, if that was even possible and Seonghwa’s clammy hands seemed to vibrate at a frequency uncommon to that of the simple average person. 

Wooyoung seemed to glance at the man Seonghwa did not know the name of, and nod quickly. Moving to pull a gun out of a holster buckled around his thigh which Seonghwa had failed to notice, due to the black of the holster and gun being camouflaged by the quartermaster’s black pants. 

“You’re coming with me,” a deep voice stated, a hand being wrapped around the prince’s lower arm, his brown eyes staring at Wooyoung begging to be helped out of the situation but the blond pirate simply gave him that signature cheshire cat of a grin, before pulling his mask up and spinning his gun on his finger haphazardly. What the hell is he doing? Who the hell was dragging Seonghwa God knows where? He almost pondered if he should be struggling more against this stranger, but it would be a fight he was guaranteed to lose so what was the point? 

‘Remain calm, don’t upset him and you will live Seonghwa, right? Of course...’ The prince thought to himself but as soon as he was placed before a special gun he stared at it with eyes as wide as saucers. With how many times he had been shocked, the crew surely must think of him as a complete idiot but he couldn’t help it. He truly had never seen a gun like this, or at all prior to meeting Hongjoong. His eyes took in the sleek material of the gun, it was all black and screwed onto the side of the ship but it could turn left and right, as well as up and down. The screw limited its movement, but it wasn’t stuck in place completely. 

“Ever shoot a gun?” The deep voice asked, causing the prince to look away from the metal weapon, and stare up at the tall individual, taking a moment out of fear to shake his head. He listened patiently as a sigh left the stranger’s mouth, and a ‘Hongjoong sure knows how to pick em.’

The prince watched as the man loaded the weapon he came to know as a swivel gun, and watched him fire it at the ship nearby to them, the shot hitting exposed ammunition on the ship causing an explosion to occur. It was loud, the smell of sulfur seemed to carry over to their ship despite the distance. Seonghwa’s brown eyes observed as the men of the opposite ship yelled, as their ship seemed to take on more and more water, sinking into the dark abyss on the side the stranger had shot on. He had done that much damage with one shot? His skill was not something to undermine that was for sure. Though it seemed just as that ship had sunk, more were on either side of them causing the man to groan in annoyance. “Fucking bastards never learn how to quit do they?”

“Mingi, how about you actually teach the kid, rather than doing the work for him?” A shorter man yelled from across the ship, auburn hair peeking out from under his hat. He was standing at another gun and his words caused Seonghwa to blush under his mask. If only he wasn’t so useless. It wasn’t his fault he wasn’t knowledgeable to this kind of stuff, but he wished it didn’t cause him to be a burden to his new friends. 

“You saw how I used it, now you try,” The deep voiced pirate he now knew as Mingi stated, observing as the prince slowly loaded the gun and moved it to aim at the ship which replaced the one that had sank. It’s sails were crimson red, with a large black skull on the large one in the middle. This boat was smaller than the man o’ war behind them, making it an easy target for Seonghwa to practice on. Though due to his inexperience, it was still no easy task. 

He closed one eye, and shot. Hoping the shot would land, and when the sound of screams came after a large BOOM, he knew he had succeeded. A grin came across the prince’s face, and he looked to Mingi to see if the man was just as impressed as him as he was with himself only to see Mingi was no longer behind him but rather the captain was. The blush Seonghwa had returned with a burning fierceness, and his hand rose to hold the metal gun in preparation for the next enemy. 

Hongjoong held a smile unseen to the cabin boy because of the mask, but his hand came to gently pat Seonghwa’s back. The prince was a sight to behold behind the gun, especially when he was learning so quickly. He was proud to see he wouldn’t need to deal with the complaints in regards to the teen’s inexperience too harshly. “A bounty hunter attacked us with a fleet of their ships, Mingi taught you how to use the swivel real quick so you can help us but he needed to focus on the cannons. Seeing as he is our gunner, he is kinda the key to us winning this. Shouldn’t be much longer now before he pulls us out of this me-.” 

The mulleted leader was cut short by the sound of crash, after crash, after, crash. Each ship surrounding them on either side taking damage in large amounts one after the other causing the prince to be taken aback. Letting go of the gun he stood at, he looked to Hongjoong with eyes wide, skin tingling as the captain chuckled at the small yelp he had heard the prince release when the booms started going off. 

“All’s fair in love and war right?” The man stated causing the prince to give him a simple nod, but his stomach still felt heavy from the large amount of action, and death that flashed before his eyes. They had killed those people, but they would be dead if they hadn’t...They had no choice. He gave Hongjoong another nod, this one much firmer. He would work hard to live up to being on the level of the pirate king and his crew, the pirate king he came to know as Kim Hongjoong. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading ^^, find me on twitter: @vampyeosang / @yongiedream


	4. angelbay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To be so fearless with your emotions, that is true strength.

"Why are those bastards after us huh?" The man with auburn hair shouted to Hongjoong, he had moved from his position across the ship to almost right next to his captain. Before Hongjoong could even answer, a hand was firmly slicing down the air before him, in order to offer a handshake to the young prince. Seonghwa turned, looked at the hand which was before him and shyly took it. Shaking it with a grasp much weaker than the stranger. 

Hongjoong shrugged, watching the interaction the two were sharing with eagle eyes. "Who knows, we are always committing crimes up and down the islands of Call, they are always after us one way or another." 

The man didn't answer the captain, for he already knew the answer he would receive. He had only used the question as a way to meet Mars, their new crewmate who had finally been able to take his hand away from the pirate’s strong grip. "The name is Jongho, I'm the striker on this ship!" he announced with a pride that Hongjoong couldn't help but roll his eyes at. 

Seonghwa smiled at the pride the pirate before him possessed, nodding his head cheerfully. "It's a pleas- nice to meet you, I’m Mars." The prince stated, simplifying his formal vernacular glancing to Hongjoong to see if the man had acknowledged his efforts in changing his level of formality. However, the mulleted pirate simply stared at him with eyes emptier than the vast ocean before him. A closed book. Much the opposite of the prince who desperately wanted to impress him. “What is a striker?” 

A flame ignited within Jongho at the sound of the question, grinning victoriously at the achievement of getting to brag about his skills, it wasn’t necessarily deserved. “I am the reason these idiots don’t starve to death, I am a master hunter. Master of trades, any weapon you have I am sure I could use,” he explained, “You know what Mars, you and me, we’re goin’ harpooning!” 

Unbeknownst to Seonghwa the dangers of getting into the tiny boat lowered down from the main deck of the ship and throwing harpoons at the sharp-toothed beast of the sea. A sharp intake of breath could be heard from Hongjoong at the suggestion of Seonghwa doing such a thing, but if he intervened, suspicion would rise and so far Jongho seemed to trust the prince a decent amount.

“I would love to!” Seonghwa sparkled, smiling with his teeth on display under his mask and eagerly following the auburn hair pirate who was explaining to him the methods of throwing a harpoon so it hits the target. Jongo’s small harpooning boat was dingy, and definitely needed to be repaired by San before they went out but that wouldn’t stop the striker. Light pink and dark green barnacles were on the sides of the wooden boat, and in the back of it were long poles with rope attached to them, in addition to a sharp metal point, slightly curving out on one of the sides. Jongho carefully turned a gear nearby, causing ropes to slowly lower the boat down to the dark abyss below. The striker removed his mask and hat before rolling up his black sleeves revealing plenty of scars. Seonghwa did the same, their skin contrasting each other in the way that the prince’s had no imperfections on his arms nor face. The beauty of a royal, a sight to behold. “Alright, let’s climb on down,” Jongho stated, his boots finding their way into little cubbies carved into the side of the ship for him to climb down. Once reaching the last one, he was able to make his way onto the small boat. Waiting for Seonghwa to do the same, he was glad the newbie wasn’t a coward shaking in his boots about coming face to face with a great white. 

“Since you are new, you will get to see me do it first and then maybe try yourself if we can find another shark. There’s one hovering over there,” Jongho explained, his finger pointing to an area a little bit away from the boat before handing Seonghwa a set of oars. “Get us there.”

Seonghwa looked at the oars for a few seconds, unsure of what was expected from him before gently placing them down on the metal holders and carefully trying to push the water with the oars to push them forward. He was successful, but it definitely exacerbated how weak he was. When they got closer, Jongho rose, his eyes sharp watching each movement the monster underneath the water took. He silently urged Seonghwa to grab the oars and place them inside the boat, before rapidly grabbing a harpoon and throwing it with a skill that no ordinary human possesses. The arch it made was graceful, and it pierced the shark right in the head causing the striker to grin. The shark was not pleased with this, the creaking of the wood that made up the boat could be heard as the shark sped off forward, and the rope attached to the harpoon that was also tied to the boat caused them to be dragged along with it. Quickly, the striker grabbed another harpoon absolutely calm despite the fact that they were already such a distance away from the ship. 

Terrified, the prince watched with wide eyes, mouth tightly sealed to keep him from crying out that they were going to die. Another harpoon was thrown with such accuracy despite the shark’s rapid movements, another direct hit. “One more,” Seonghwa heard Jongho mumble under his breath while he grabbed another harpoon. But the shark suddenly stopped moving, causing the two to stumble forward. “Ugh, bastard.”

“What is it doi-,” Seonghwa went to ask but was suddenly falling forward again as the shark went straight down. Jongho was stubborn, despite the creaking of his boat becoming louder and louder as the shark swam down, as the rope tugged against the boat. Jongho was preparing to hit the shark again, he just needed one more hit after all but if he timed it wrong they were going to be fish food. “You need to cut the rope! The boat is going to break!” Seonghwa suddenly shouted, unsure of what came over to him but he could hear the wood getting closer and closer to snapping. 

Jongho threw the harpoon, and it all ceased, Turning to look at the panicking cabin boy with a calm smile. “Did you really think we were going to die? Not me, I will never die to one of these bastards.” 

The prince had decided to conclude that Jongho was insane, also that he would never go harpooning with the pirate ever again. He was much more comfortable doing anything on the ship that didn’t deal with wild sharks in a small boat that should have been repaired beforehand. He picked up the oars, rowing them back to the ship. His arms aching as they were quick to make their way back onto the ship, and use the rope pulley system to get the harpooning boat back up into it, shark attached to it via the rope but they pulled it up separately. 

“That is a good catch, we will make a decent pay off at the market for that one,” Yeosang stated, patting Seonghwa on the shoulder as he spoke to Jongho with a small smile. “I steered us towards Angelbay so we can make repairs, sell that shark meat, and get Mars a bed.” 

Though the moment hadn’t been very long, the prince’s heart was beating so fast that when his hand pressed against his chest he feared that it would leap out of his body and run away. The adrenaline was both very stressful but liberating, and though he had been terrified he couldn’t lie that it had excited him beyond anything else he had ever experienced. 

He found himself drifting away from the chatter of his new crew, cheering over the striker of the ship’s amazing catch. Not to say he wasn’t ecstatic about the catch as well, especially since he had been apart of helping it happen (kind of), the victory was short-lived before the sparkling eyes of the prince caught a glimpse of their captain, looking out at the limitless ocean from the helm, turning the wheel only when absolutely necessary. 

The prince paused, humming as he allowed the air to hit his face, his mask, and hat back on making it less satisfying. Either way, sea breeze is so nice, it cleanses the soul and mind. It is almost as if it drifts through your skin, through your bones, through your soul and when you breathe out after only a few seconds of allowing it to cleanse you, you’re a new person. Seonghwa’s legs carried him towards the mulleted pirate, standing by him with a sort of invigorating cheerfulness that the captain couldn’t help but smile at. The prince cracked his cold face way too easily, warming his heart with each glance he gave. “Mingling with the crew is good for your reputation, and yet you return to me,” the captain tsked at the royal, pulling the mask down to show his smile. The prince was quick to do the same, but his smile was much wider and, Hongjoong hated to admit it but, the prince's smile was much more beautiful. If Seonghwa didn’t stop being so breathtaking, he was going to have to start protecting the boy for more than just because he was wanted.

“I can’t help it! I feel comfortable with you, like nothing in the world should terrify or worry me because I am beside you,” Seonghwa explained, ignorant to how meaningful his words are. Seonghwa never considered the fact that feelings should be kept secret, Hongjoong made him happy, and he wasn’t about to keep silent about it. The captain blushed at the kind words, and waved his hand to shoo away the kind prince. 

“Don’t go around spouting such kind words, are you trying to get everyone to see you as weak?” Hongjoong muttered. Though being so true with your feelings so fearlessly was much tougher in his eyes than locking them away. But what would he know, he lived silently, and apathetically because that is how a pirate should live. He was a hypocrite.

The prince observed the captain with that damn foolish smile of his, wondering what beauties Angelbay offered. They were quite close to it, which is probably why Yeosang had picked it. That way the meat wouldn’t rot because of a long trip if they went somewhere farther. Squinting, Seonghwa tried to make sense of the greenery to tell the details of the flowers, if he noticed any animals, or other people residing on the island. However, his vision failed him because realistically humans can’t see _that_ far. 

San ran from one the bow of the boat to the middle where he untied a knot with a speed that seemed inhuman causing the middle sail to fall, before he ran back to the bow where he had been working on polishing the figurehead, a lovely angel which much of the crew considered to be a lucky charm for the ship. The speed of the ship increased due to the middle sail falling to be full, the wind carrying them closer, Hongjoong having to be careful with his steering as he avoided rocks and shallow sandbars. They got closer and closer to the rickety old dock, which honestly looked like it would collapse any day now. Even so, it was a sight to see for Seonghwa who almost jumped for joy until he realized that everyone would surely look at him as if he had lost his mind for doing that. 

“Angelbay! It’s been too long~!” He heard Wooyoung shout, the blond pirate’s excitement was infectious causing Seonghwa to giggle a bit as he moved towards where they would exit the ship and leap onto the dock. His arm was grabbed by Hongjoong, who shook his head wearily. 

Hongjoong put his mask back up, “Make sure the anchor is down, and that knot tying us to the dock is a good one!” he shouted, before allowing his attention to be fully on the prince whose arm he held a bit too tightly. He loosened his grip, “Sorry, I just don’t want you going off of your own, it is far too dangerous,” Hongjoong said apologetically, tone soft so the rest of the crew would not pick up on their secretive conversation. Though the pirate would like to think he was great at his secret-keeping, the secret of a wanted prince may be too much for the captain. Even so, Hongjoong refused to believe he couldn’t handle something, and thus Seonghwa was by his side and Yeosang’s eyes unbeknownst to him remained trained on him with an arched brow. 

The sea artist liked Mars, but he knew something was off. Everyone did because the only reason they had survived this far is by having a keen eye for things that seem a bit off. And while Mars couldn’t be some sort of evildoer planning to assassinate their captain with his lack of skills, he was someone they needed to pay attention to. Until their suspicions are disproven that is. 

Seonghwa walked forward onto the old deck, buzzing with enthusiasm as the captain walked closely behind him. Speaking to the crewmembers occasionally when they asked him questions but his eyes typically kept their focus on the innocent prince who was enjoying himself far too much already. It was to be expected, and there wasn’t much Hongjoong could do when the prince had experienced so little. Of course, everything was going to ignite a flame within his chocolate eyes. 

A merchant walked up to the prince, and for a moment Hongjoong forgot they were wearing their masks and hats, almost going to cover Seonghwa in fear of him being identified. Thankfully, the idiocy of his thoughts struck him far too early for his action to actually be carried out. He watched as Seonghwa bowed, cringing at the boy’s politeness. ‘You are a pirate, act like one,’ he wanted to say but would despise himself for changing the person Seonghwa is further than he already has. He loved how charming the prince was, and didn’t want to change that about him. He was going against the tide of what was right, the tide of what would keep them alive. 

The merchant smiled from ear to ear, holding out his goods. “Would you like to purchase one my friend,” holding out knives that looked sharp enough to draw blood from even the lightest of touches to the blade. They were gorgeous for sure, but Seonghwa knew too little about knives to be able to understand which was good, which was bad, and what was a good price. Hongjoong bit his lip, reaching for a dark black one, it shined when brought up to the sun, he could see how the blade curved a bit so if it was stabbed into someone, it would do more damage when pulled out. “He will buy this one.” 

Seonghwa turned back to look at Hongjoong in confusion, he didn’t have money on him for this blade, nor did he know much it even cost. Hongjoong handed the merchant a bag of gold coins, before guiding the prince away with his new knife. “I will teach you how to use it, you need a way to defend yourself if you are going to survive out here,” the captain stated with a smirk, watching as the prince blushed, the slight tinge of red barely seen due to the mask covering the majority of his face, but Hongjoong could see it a bit at the sides of his face. 

Seonghwa looked at his new knife, smiling at it. Hongjoong had chosen and bought it for him, he was already so indebted to the captain he felt guilty for being provided for even more, but he also couldn’t help how his heart seemed to flutter at the gift. He would be the best knife fighter the world had seen, it was the least he could do. “I won’t disappoint you!” He shouted, jogging to catch up with the mulleted leader who had gone a bit ahead of the prince.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you  
> ~ yongiedream / vampyeosang (twitter)


	5. daisies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So sorry for delaying you! I just wanted to smell those flowers,” the brunette paused, pointing over to a small section of grass with plenty of daisies growing there, the prince moved closer to show that he had picked one of the white flowers, only to tuck it behind Hongjoong’s ear, “Now we match!”

The birds chirped above the prince's head, he looked up at them with a smile unseen to the world. The mask may have hidden the facial expressions of fascination he carried, but his body language and aura screamed it out. He seemed radiant in the all-black attire, and it only became further obvious to Hongjoong the fact that Seonghwa was a prince, not a pirate. He was too precious for this life, but clearly, the royal life wasn't any better if he was to be executed upon returning. 

What had he done? The captain had never asked now that he thought about it, he felt in his gut the need to help the prince that night in the tavern. King Park was a piece of a shit, everyone knew that. But he wasn't even kind to his son? Seonghwa had lasted for seventeen years, why now was he going to be killed?

"Pr- Mars," Hongjoong stated, eyes widening at how lethal of a mistake he had almost made. How could he be so careless? 

Seonghwa looked behind him to where Hongjoong stood, allowing the pirate to notice the flower now tucked behind the brown locks of the prince. His heart clenched at the sight, yet he turned away to hide the blush as if he wasn’t wearing a mask that hid it in the first place. “Where did you get the flower?” The pirate scoffed, watching as Seonghwa only smiled at him with glee, though the man could not see his upturned lips, he could see it in his eyes. The prince had been busy observing the light-colored green, shell-pink, and periwinkle freshly blooming flora around him, the forest surrounding the dirt path they walked along, the cool ocean breeze still providing the comfort of knowing they were not restrained to this island. It was simply a nice place to visit. The light came through the viridescent trees which overarched the path and illuminated certain sections of the prince’s face, causing his brown eyes to glitter rather than look like mud.

The brunette rushed forward to the more populated era, where the people of the island resided. His giggles were soft just audible above the buzzing of the insects around them and Hongjoong felt a heavy weight in his stomach watching the innocent man sit on an oak wooden bench, looking expectantly at the pirate who found his way beside him. Seonghwa paid no mind to the captain, he was far too entranced with the world around him. Watching as people from all walks of life dancing, the sound of a lute being played caused the space to become as lively as it currently was. It was high-spirited, the sounds of boots and heels against cobblestone, drunken laughter filled the world. “Gorgeous,” the prince breathed out. Never had he witnessed nor heard a scene so vivacious.

“Never heard a lute before?” Hongjoong asked, smiling at the sight of the pastel rainbow of clothing moving across the reflections in Seonghwa’s wide brown eyes from observing the dancers. The prince slowly shook his head when his mind finally perceived the captain’s words, causing the pirate to rise from where he sat. Making his way around the intoxicated laughing dancers, he was able to stroll over to where the tall lute player was. The lute player looked at him upon the personal space intrusion with a harsh glare, until he realized who was actually before him. The newly appointed cabin boy almost rose from his seat, unsure of why Hongjoong abandoned him until he witnessed the intimidating pirate king approaching him, strumming the light brown wooden lute. He sent a wink towards the prince before his fingers seemed to dance with the beat of the boots and heels hitting the ground. Hongjoong danced along with them while performing, and for a moment some seemed to stop, almost as if they became sober for a moment to stare at the infamous pirate acting so free. The shock value of it was enough to cause anyone to pause for a moment. All except Seonghwa. 

“Now we can’t have that, can we?,” Hongjoong laughed lightly, teasing the prince who rose to his feet. Trying to dance along with the others, the grins on their faces similar to his own, Seonghwa laughed infectiously, and eventually, his hand was grabbed by the pirate captain who had handed off the lute back to its original owner. With the addition of a partner, the prince attempted to begin waltzing with the man for it is all he knew how to do, only used to dancing with potential suitors at balls. His original laugh was now overshadowed by Hongjoong’s, who found the formal dance amusing in such a scene as this. He hooked his arm under Seonghwa’s and seemed to skip in circles, the music seemed to grow in intensity as they danced, and though a drop of alcohol hadn’t touched either of their tongues they were drunk on the feeling. Hongjoong moved so one arm was extended away from Seonghwa, the other holding Seonghwa close to him while the prince’s opposite arm also extended outward to the side of him.

The air felt warm, as Seonghwa never wanted this moment to end. How had he gone all those years locked away in his room, when life had so much to offer. He loved it, and would never return to his old life. Staring up at the sky above them, the sun much lower in the sky now than it had been when they first arrived. The young prince found his extended hand grabbed by another, his eyes darting to see Wooyoung with his mask down smirking at the new cabin boy, and winking at the captain who had initially been glaring at the member of his crew.

Moving away from the larger crowd, the trio consisted of a bubbly prince still trying to process the greatness that is the lute and folk dance, a pirate captain observing said prince, and a quartermaster looking between the two with a smug smirk (one which he always had). “So, here I was lugging this mattress from this nice noble’s vacation home with Sangie only to be interrupted because he swore he heard the captain and our new cabin boy laughing up a storm,” Wooyoung stated, his voice causing Hongjoong to turn to focus on him instead. 

“Put your mask up,” was all the mulleted man said in reply, ignoring the fact that Wooyoung rolled his eyes at how Hongjoong simply dismissed the statement altogether. 

“Well, San is almost finished fixing the ship, I think the others are still at the market but I could run a message to them if you’d like.”

Hongjoong paused, while he wasn’t fond of staying at places for any length longer than necessary he couldn’t bring himself to insist they leave. Not this time at least. “Just inform them to all be back on the ship by the time the sun has set. We can stay a bit longer, no need to rush.” He received a puzzled look from Wooyoung for a moment, before the pirate gave a nod and took his leave. Turning back to observe Seonghwa, who hummed softly to the tune now stuck in his head, the tune of the lute which had been playing and cleansed any anxiety either of them had been feeling prior. 

The captain walked forward off towards where the market is, not caring if he ran into his other crew members along the way, he had a plan and surely enough money to buy one. Even if he didn’t have enough, he had enough bullets to waste if stealing was a more appealing option. Though violence wasn’t bothersome to any of the pirates including Hongjoong, he was hesitant to involve himself in anything that would ruin Seonghwa’s childlike reality. Sure he had experienced the minor battle on the sea between them and the hunter, but that was nothing in comparison to the other cruel realities the pirate life had to offer. He couldn't take the prince away from it forever, but was it so bad to try?

For a moment, no footsteps could be heard behind the captain and while terror consumed him at the moment, his eyes could practically imagine the sight he would see when he turned his back. Seonghwa’s corpse, or maybe it would still be too early and instead, the prince would be staring at him with tear-filled eyes, metal pressed against the side of his skull. However, as the pirate turned harshly eyes empty to numb himself from the inevitable he was instead greeted with the apologetic smile of the prince, his mask down. 

“So sorry for delaying you! I just wanted to smell those flowers,” the brunette paused, pointing over to a small section of grass with plenty of daisies growing there, the prince moved closer to show that he had picked one of the white flowers, only to tuck it behind Hongjoong’s ear, “Now we match!”

They carried on, the two of them contrasting each other so much that occasionally onlookers would observe for a few seconds just out of amusement. The striped fabric overheads of the market’s various booths came into view, Hongjoong sighing as he saw Jongho arguing with an elderly gentleman at a booth, surely in regards to the price for the shark meat. “Let’s avoid them,” Hongjoong mumbled to Seonghwa, whose face flashed with confusion for a moment before a nod was given to the captain. Skillfully, Hongjoong made his way around each stall, making sure his view was covered by other stalls, signs, or horses as he made his way over to the booth of a musician and musical instrument maker. Hongjoong wasn’t very fond of the owner, he spoke loud enough for Hongjoong’s hearing to be permanently damaged after each of their meetings. The pirate looked to the prince, using his hands to tell the brunette to put his mask back up. Seonghwa blushed, mouthing a ‘sorry’ before pulling the mask up. 

“Joong! The Pirate King of the Islands of Call decides to grace my presence?! To what do I owe this fine occasion~. Oh, it appears you brought...,” the blond-haired man leaned forward over the wooden counter of his booth to drink in the appearance of the new cabin boy before his smile turned into one reminiscent of a Cheshire cat, simply reminding Seonghwa of Wooyoung’s mischievous smirks. “Brought your lover have you?”

Hongjoong glared at the musician, already tired of his antics and preparing to grab Seonghwa’s hand and leave before his patience was tested beyond what he could manage for that day. However, he paused, as Seonghwa could only laugh at the words spoken, and the accusation that  _ he _ was the captain’s lover. With a sigh, the pirate found himself stuck in the mud between the two men, questioning why he liked Seonghwa in the first place if he was as much of an idiot as Felix. “He isn’t my lover you idiot, I simply want to buy a lute. That is the only reason I am here, now stop wasting my time.” 

Clicking his tongue, the blond turned his back for a moment only to turn back with a painted black wooden lute, it looked way too prestigious but then again that was perfect for someone of Hongjoong’s status. He may be a criminal, but that didn’t mean his influence was minimal. His actions and words made waves, whether he knew it or not. They always caught up to him one way or another, though he had gotten better at prolonging the length of time at which this would occur, hence why he had not been fed to the sharks yet. 

“How much for this one?” 

Felix tapped his chin, his eyes focused on Hongjoong but occasionally stealing glances at the go-lucky prince who observed with bright hopeful eyes. Tapping his fingers along the rustic rough wooden counter, though the musician was quite fond of swindling people he instead smirked, only causing Hongjoong’s suspicion to rise. “On the house~!”

The pirate scoffed, now was Felix taking him for a fool, he should know better by now after all the other times he failed to trick him. “What is the catch this time?” 

“No catch, just felt you had a good reason to be interested in a lute. Not to mention the pretty boy you brought over, surely a new member of your crew hmm? Too pretty to be a pirate isn’t he?” Felix stated, the question did influence Hongjoong but he showed no sign of faltering, he would neither confirm nor deny whatever Felix was suggesting. For it meant life or death for Seonghwa, and Hongjoong was not so careless to have the prince’s life end like that, especially not in the hands of a trickster like the seller before him. Hongjoong grabbed the lute, glancing at Felix for a moment before turning away, grabbing Seonghwa’s hand to drag him along. No time could be left dilly-dallying, while the original plan had been to stay of course, it was almost sunset and Joong was not pleased with his decision to see Felix today, even if he did get such a lovely lute out of it. 

While Hongjoong had been easy on Seonghwa thus far, he knew deep down that this was his first mistake. He had a knife sure, but what else other than that. Combat was not merely as simple as having a weapon or not, it is a matter of knowing how to defend yourself using said weapon. The pair walked towards the ship, the sun now getting lower and lower in the sky until it kissed the ocean. The burnt sky filled with its oranges and yellows slowly merging with a dark purple speckled with stars. The water glimmered due to the last rays of the sun which would be seen for the day. Seonghwa watched the landscape before him, rather than his immediate surroundings as a whole, so awestruck by the beauty of the outside world for the hundredth time that, Hongjoong came to acknowledge this as the prince’s weakness. His innocence. 

“Onto the ship Mars, we can’t waste time here it isn’t safe.”

“But it looks so lovely…” The prince’s words were soft and lingered a bit in the cool spring evening air. Casting his eyes to the ship, Hongjoong noted Yeosang observing the two. He was a keen man, he surely wouldn’t miss any mistake the captain made here. 

“Mars, we really need to go.” 

The prince gave a nod, turning with his mask down to smile at Hongjoong. How many times had he seen the cute brunette smile? Why did it always cause his chest to burn like it had the first time he had seen the Prince? Seonghwa brought a sort of unfamiliar curiosity to Hongjoong, one that comes with the unknown and that which has not been experienced. It was so familiar, yet foreign and the confusion that came with the two mixing was enough to suffocate him.

Seonghwa followed behind the eager-to-leave captain, wondering why the mulleted man felt so worried about their safety when nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. Had he missed a detail? Everything had been so sweet today, the prince wanted to clap his hands in glee during every moment of it. 

“Let’s get onto raising the anchor, and untying us from the dock!” Hongjoong shouted to the crew who had been busy conversing about their various altercations with strangers on the island, Joong rushing to his quarters to hide the lute there. He placed it in one of his many storage chests, not to be used unless a special occasion came up. Or at least that is what he would tell himself. As someone in such a high position amongst his crew, to waste time playing music was an insult to his position, and he didn’t want the crew looking down on him for breaking away from his cold exterior. 

A sigh left his chapped lips, he shut his eyes tightly as he began to slide the door of his quarters open again. A loud shot could be heard in the night, causing his eyes to open out of fear of the worst. His eyes instantly darted anywhere and everywhere for the prince, grabbing the gun which had been holstered on the side of his leg defensively. Rogue pirates looked more like peasants as they lacked any uniform like Hongjoong’s crew did. Anyone who dared mess with Joong clearly had a death wish.

Mingi was quick to have a gun pressed against the head of the pirate who had shot a bullet in the direction of Yunho, only grazing his arm. Mess with  _ his _ crew, and have shit aim? Hongjoong wanted to spit on their graves. The issue was whether or not the second shot would hit Yunho in a much worse spot if Mingi didn’t pull the trigger fast enough. Not to mention the pirate was not alone, other rogues observed the scene unsure of if they should save their imbecile of a friend or fend for themselves. 

The rogue grinned, showing off the many missing teeth in his mouth before pulling the trigger at the same time as the man behind him. Yunho dove just as the trigger was pulled, body falling to the ground with a thud to avoid having an early meeting with the grim reaper, the body of the rogue collapsed forward, a hole in his skull from testing the skills of the infamous gunner. The other rogues seemed to pause for a moment, questioning their actions of entering the enemy ship as they stared at the corpse of their friend. Bug-eyed, and hesitant, they shook in their boots trying to make a decision of what to do next. 

Hongjoong went to rush towards the prince, frustrated that Seonghwa still hadn’t put his mask up despite the obvious conflict ensuing. His movement caught the eyes of one of the rogues, causing the man to lunge forward in the same direction, only to catch the sight of the prince. “So this is the guy isn’t it,” the rogue gave a hard laugh, tone gruff caused by hours of smoking. The captain rose his brow, the fuck did he mean by that. 

Seonghwa’s face was pale, as the rogue approached with a piece of metal and Hongjoong knew he couldn’t get across the ship in time to reach the new cabin boy in time. His other men were dealing with the other bastard, and yet the world had gone silent for Joong as he could only observe the prince enter a joke of a fighting stance. 

The prince’s joints were stiff, as he reached into his pocket to pull out the gift Hongjoong had given him only earlier today. “You don’t have to do this, come on. To show mercy, will give you another day of life. Do you want blood on your hands?” 

“Another day of life, that ain’t what I need, kid. I need that money, your father put out a hefty price for you after all. Hongjoong is a damned idiot for taking you in,” The rogue laughed, watching the widened eyes of the prince. His identity? Who else knew, was it only this trio of rogues. Seonghwa was quick to pull up his mask, despising the sensation of keeping the burning tears in the corners of his eyes at bay. If he cried now, he wouldn’t be able to fight with clear sight. 

Lunging forward, his lack of cowardice threw the rogue off track causing him to hesitate. The black knife plunged into the abdomen of the dark-haired individual pirate who had the intention of taking him away, back to the Kingdom. He would never go back to the Kingdom, never. Not now, not so soon, there was still so much he hadn’t seen. The cabin boy found his ears ringing, and the sounds around him muffled as his shoulder was grabbed harshly, and he was pulled away, his hand felt hot and when he glanced at it with blurry eyesight a red liquid dripped down it, to the wooden deck of the ship. 

“He was stabbed 30 times, the bastard isn’t alive Woo,” Jongho stated, but the prince had no clue where he was. Surely near the body of the man Seonghwa had murdered. Oh god...what had he done? 

“Put him in my quarters!” Joong called out to San, who was lugging the body of the prince away from the corpse he had caused the death of. “You have got to be fucking kidding me,” the captain muttered under his breath. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the support, the comments are very kind and amusing.  
> ~ vampyeosang (twitter) / yongiedream (nsfw twitter)


	6. pure luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seonghwa must learn that being selfish is okay, especially if he wishes to remain alive.

Aside from the crashing of the waves, squawking of seagulls, it was relatively silent on the ship. An uncomfortable eerie lack of shouting coming from the pirates, who had set sail not too long ago left Hongjoong more unsettled. They had disposed of the bodies of the rogues by simply tossing them into the dark ocean, to be seen by an unsuspecting individual in the morning unless carried away by the waves, but that was unlikely. 

Hongjoong stood with his arms crossed, simply looking at the water ahead on the starboard rather than at the helm like he should be. The crew had retreated to their quarters, the captain was sure they weren’t sleeping, however. Seonghwa remained in the captain’s quarters, hours had passed and the sun was long set by now. Yet the mulleted man had kept far from his quarters, guilt weighing on his conscience for allowing the prince to get into that situation. Without that knife...he surely would have died. It was pure luck that he got out of that fight, to begin with, a matter of that rogue being a complete idiot gave Seonghwa a minimal advantage that otherwise should have been non-existent. Seonghwa should have died, and yet he didn’t and now had blood on his hands. Had Hongjoong even gone in to clean the blood off of his hands? No...he was an idiot when it came to the prince. His fear of involving himself with the inner turmoil Seonghwa surely must be experiencing kept him away from the basic decency of checking on the prince. He was an ass. 

Turning he moved away from the nipping seaspray, using his upper body strength to lower the anchor and waiting for it to catch onto a rock. It took a moment, but it did so with ease. It always felt a little strange anchoring in the darkness of the night, if only visibility was a little better. The wooden deck creaked as he walked along it towards his quarters, below where the helm was located on a risen up section of the ship deck. “Why do you even care this much?” he muttered to himself, hand trembling as he went to slide the door open. Seonghwa must have heard the heavy thuds of his boots, as it slid open before he could manage to muster up the courage to open it himself. 

The prince had slightly red rings under his eyes which were overall a bit puffy. Casting his brown eyes down, Hongjoong sighed at how Seonghwa’s hands were still covered with dried burgundy blood. Seonghwa stepped back a bit until the back of his legs hit the captain’s bed and he took a seat. Grabbing a rag, and pushing it into a bucket of rainwater typically stored on the deck. He kneeled before the prince, and roughly scrubbed at the dried blood with the wet rag. The silence held between the two was tense, suffocating the two of them. Seonghwa stared down at Hongjoong, not liking the image of the man kneeling before him, as it reminded him of the positions of servant and royal. He did not want to consider himself above Hongjoong, he wanted them to be equal. 

“How are you feeling?” The captain asked, staring back into the prince’s sparkling eyes, watching as Seonghwa seemed to snap out of a daze, glancing down at his semi-clean hands before returning back to the beautiful eyes of the pirate before him. 

Shaking his head, the brunette would have slumped if not for his princely nature keeping himself from doing so. “He knew who I was, that rogue...I am sorry it hasn’t even been a week, and I already have endangered you and your crew.” His voice was silky to Hongjoong, who was only used to gruff tones and childish slang. Pirates did not find themselves fond of those with advanced education, because it exaggerated their lack of intelligence. Seonghwa’s ways of speaking and the way he carried himself only made the mulleted man more entranced by him, however. He was refreshing because even though he carried himself like a royal it was without the judgemental nature most nobles carried. Hongjoong wanted to drink in all the prince had to offer, even if circumstance dictated the opposite. 

The captain smirked a bit, rising from his knees to sit beside Seonghwa which caused the prince’s lips to upturn a bit at the sides, just noticeable by Hongjoong. “My crew and I have experienced dangers far worse than that. Give yourself more credit hmm? You took that rogue down because he threatened you, in that position it is either you or him and you chose correctly. I am glad you are still alive, however, this does emphasize to me that you need some training with physical combat as soon as possible…”

Seonghwa rose from where he sat, eyes filled with tears he had kept at bay since the initial night he had run away from the castle. “B-But- he died! I killed him-, why is his life less important than mine!” 

Hongjoong gently grabbed Seonghwa’s hand, re-wetting the rag before moving to continue cleaning the prince’s hands. An action similar to rubbing a person’s back while they cry. “I know it may seem selfish, but it is your duty as a member of my crew to remain alive. I know you may feel that your life is less than others, that others have so much more to offer than you,” the captain paused, “but to me, that is so far from the truth, you are worth so much more than that rogue. If you wish to return the kindness I have shown you by allowing you shelter on my ship, then please learn to understand to think of yourself first before any enemy.” 

Silence, filled the quarters once again as the prince simply watched Hongjoong finishing up cleaning his hands of what he considered to be a mistake punishable by death. When Seonghwa had run away, he had expected those on the outside world to be kind, with pure intentions. So far, only Hongjoong had truly met those expectations for him. The rest of the crew was kind though, he was sure they checked off the boxes too, if only they weren’t suspicious of him. 

“Would you like to go rest in the crew’s quarters today? Strengthen your relationship with the crew, maybe ask Mingi to train you with that knife of yours,” Hongjoong asked, his hand finding a place in Seonghwa’s hair, running through it with a grin on his lips. 

There was a warmth in Hongjoong’s quarters Seonghwa had never found anywhere else, and though he desperately wanted to stay with the captain he knew that realistically he could not spend every waking moment with him. He needed to get in the good graces of the rest of the crew, otherwise, he was useless as a member of the ship. He just wanted to impress Hongjoong after all. 

The prince nodded, bowing to the captain who waved his hand dismissively. “What have you told you about formalities Seonghwa.” 

“Sorry! Can’t help it,” the brunette apologized softly, before turning and sliding the doors to the side to exit. He shivered, his mask stuffed into the pocket of his pants and his hands extra cold due to still being a bit wet with water. He was trying so hard to adjust to this new life, and yet just found disappointment everywhere. But he couldn’t give up, give up on the beauty surrounding him. This was so much better than the prison his father had trapped him in, and the only reason he was still alive was because of Hongjoong. It all changed so quickly, he surely had invisible whiplash. 

Carefully, he trudged across the deck to where a wooden staircase descended down to the lower deck where he found the rest of the crew mumbling softly to one another. The conversation being shut down the instant the creak of Seonghwa’s boots against the wooden stairs could be heard. 

Wooyoung was the first to rise, not one to stall as he grabbed the prince’s hand and dragged him over to the bed he had set up for him. It was beside Yeosang, who was laying down looking at a bunch of maps. Glancing up at the new cabin boy for a brief second before back at his life’s work. “I was wondering when you’d join us!” The quartermaster grinned, returning back to his own bed which it appeared he was sharing with a dark-haired fellow Seonghwa knew as the ship’s carpenter, San was it? 

San wrapped his arms around the waist of the easily excitable quartermaster who was hyper-focused on the new cabin boy. “So~, I am glad you are finally down here with us! We were all worried about you, your reaction was something alright!” Wooyoung explained, placing his chin in his hands as the carpenter nuzzled his head into the blond’s back. 

“Yes, I am sorry it took me so long to join you all. I appreciate the kindness you have shown me so far,” Seonghwa stated, sitting on his bed he felt like he weighed almost as much as the anchor keeping the ship still.

“Your combat with that rogue was ass buddy, you’re lucky he was an idiot otherwise you would have been the dead one. Have you never been in a fight before?” Mingi laughed from where he sat on his bed, cleaning his gun using a wet rag, slightly dirty from remnants of gunpowder and dirt. 

Multiple sets of eyes focused on the cabin boy, and he found himself grimacing at the attention. “Uh, yeah...my dad was a baker before he passed...never had a reason to fight until now.” The lie fell off his tongue with more ease than he expected, he had never been good at lying. ‘My dad is a baker, my dad is a baker and I am just a peasant who got stuck homeless when he died...definitely not a prince running away from his dictator king of a father.’ Seonghwa thought to himself, rubbing his arm as he awaited a response from the group of pirates. 

“Ah well you are shit, I’ll give you some training in the morning. If I don’t, you may as well be writing your will now. Not like you have anything in your name anyway,” Mingi replied, placing the gun with his belongings before laying his head on his pillow and turning away from the group. The decision to sleep.

Seonghwa wished he had nothing in his name, he wouldn’t be a fugitive if that was the case.

“Mars, get some rest, you look terrible,” Wooyoung suggested, blowing out the flame filling the lantern, and lighting up the room. Would they have gone to bed now if Seonghwa hadn’t intruded upon their conversation?

Either way, he shut his eyes and turned to the side hugging himself underneath a thin blanket he had been given along with his new mattress. It was strange to live this new life of barely scraping by. Yet it was so much more fulfilling than anything he had ever experienced prior. Sure he had a comfortable bed, with a lovely thick blanket that covered his whole body, and responsibilities were practically non-existent. A dream in the eyes of anyone, but for Seonghwa it was a nightmare. 

Waking up every single day, unable to leave his room. The prison was cold, he reacted with his maids here and there and that is all. Any interaction longer than a minute or two was when his father would angrily leave more bruises and cuts on his skin than he’d like, and he would take it all, unable to fight back. He was the final hope of the people within the kingdom, and he had abandoned them because he was afraid of losing his life. Just another example of him putting his life before others. Why was he born a coward?

Darkness seemed to overcome the prince as his breathing slowed, but within his mind, he could see that rose in a vase beside his window. He hoped his mom was protecting him through this new life, was she the reason Hongjoong had been there in that bar to offer him a helping hand? A smile graced his tired figure, thank goodness for Captain Hongjoong. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, I update every Saturday but I wish I could update twice a week because I love writing this story so much. Follow me on Twitter (vampyeosang) for updates if you so, please.


	7. selfish

The prince cried out in horror when he felt a grip on his arms which had wrapped around his upper body as he slept. His brown hair had fallen over his eyes, his eyes shooting open as his mouth opened and closed, he must have looked like a fish out of water to whoever was grabbing him not-so-very-gently. 

“Ya mate, calm down,” Wooyoung laughed, letting go of the new cabin boy to allow his body to fall back down against his new bed. “Don’t think we’re going to let you sleep in just because you’re the captain’s favorite!” The blond teased, cheeky grin on his face.

Seonghwa sat up, looking around while rubbing his eyes tiredly. He never woke up this tired when he shared a bed with Joong, but he would have to get used to this. To lay in a bed with the captain, now that would surely bring the both of them under suspicion for more reasons than one. Not like being gay mattered on this ship, Wooyoung and San were so touchy the sight of it made the prince feel enlightened. Love can be expressed in the world beyond the castle walls, it was a miracle really. Even so, the power dynamic of a captain and a cabin boy is so different. A relationship between the two of them could lead to the others thinking Seonghwa is getting special treatment (even when at times he kinda is). 

No one else was in the quarters aside from Wooyoung and Seonghwa, he must have let him sleep in a bit despite his previous statement. “I apologize,” he whispered, rising out of bed, and grabbing his mask and hat to put on. 

Wooyoung snickered at how Seonghwa apologized, it was so strange to him that this new cabin boy was so polite. Maybe he was still shy, and the formalities brought him a piece of mind. He hoped that the presumed walls this former peasant boy had would fall. Unbeknownst to him, Seonghwa had no walls up really. The most trusting he had ever been was towards this bunch of pirates, as they were the key to his freedom from his life before. The quartermaster shrugged, grabbing Seonghwa’s hand and dragged the sleepy cabin boy up the stairs to the upper deck. “You’re going with Mingi today for training, good luck,” the blond chuckled, patting the prince’s shoulder who nervously rubbed his arm. 

His eyes surveyed the ship, the crew seeming pretty busy in the early hours of the morning. The sky had just transitioned from the pretty hues of pink and orange representing sunrise to a soft pale blue. Yeosang and Hongjoong were nowhere to be seen, but they had to be on the vessel somewhere. San was slamming a hammer down on the harpooning boat, while Jongho scolded him to be careful with his “baby.” 

Seonghwa’s boots were quiet against the deck among the other loud shouts or slamming on the ship, the echoes of hard-work running through his head as he approached Mingi who was using some bags of leaves for target practice with his sleek gun. “I-um...excuse me,” the prince stated, his voice far too quiet to be heard over the ruckus of the ship, not to mention the sudden loud bang that would cause him to flinch and step back a few times in fear. Buck up Seonghwa, buck up. Don’t you want to be the best knife fighter for Hongjoong? 

His hand moved to touch where he had the knife strapped to his thigh, his brown eyes moving to watch Mingi take another shot. Flinching once again, but refusing to step back. “Mingi!” he shouted, determination in his voice, watching as the gunner flinched at his name being called so suddenly, almost dropping the gun he was holding. His body turned quickly to face the presumed threat ready to fight until he realized it was just the new cabin boy and he shook his head with a smile. 

“Scaring someone with a gun? Not a good idea,” Mingi stated, placing a hand on Seonghwa’s shoulder in an almost comforting manner. It surely would have brought some ease to the new pirate’s clammy hands if not for the gun being so large and intimidating in such proximity that he could smell the burning of the earlier shot. “Now,” the gunner stated, putting the gun away safely so he could focus on teaching his new crewmate. 

Seonghwa bit his lip, alternating which foot had the most weight placed on it as he awaited Mingi’s instructions. The gunner was taller than him, and much more experienced but of course wouldn’t injure him, right? He was kind enough when he taught him to use the swivel, and though at first suddenly being taught how to use a weapon amidst a battle by some deep-voiced stranger was horrifying, the prince truly wanted to be able to fight. 

Looking in the corner of his eye he watched Hongjoong exit his quarters with Yeosang behind him, the sea artist had his arms crossed and his mouth was moving as he spoke to the captain. The cabin boy held his hands in front of him, knowing he should glance away and focus on the task at hand but his mind was far more interested in whatever the captain was doing. Though the mask and hat acted to hide identity, the mullet was an identifier that it made it impossible for Seonghwa to mistake anyone else on the crew for Hongjoong. 

“Ah!” the cabin boy shouted as a reflex to a hand snapping in front of his face so suddenly, almost losing his balance and falling on his ass. Mingi pointed to the knife strapped to his thigh, waiting for the brunette to pull it out and hold it so they could begin. In a nervous rush, Seonghwa did so, holding the warm painted black handle of the knife. The gunner carefully moved his fingers to show him how to properly hold the knife.

“Pretend that the sac of feathers is an enemy, and initiate an attack. Based on how you froze up against that guy who attacked you, you are probably going to go with a more defensive attack style but for now, I want you to practice offense. That knife isn’t going to help much in combat seeing as most pirates have a gun, but we can teach you that after,” Mingi explained, leaning against the side of the ship as he watched Seonghwa stare at the sac of feathers which had gunshot holes in it. He lunged forward, stabbing into the sac with his eyes shut.

The gunner hummed, semi-pleased with the attack. He wasn’t expecting this cabin boy to be on his level, just able to defend himself at a subpar level. “Alright, now that sac isn’t going to hurt you so of course, any attack to it is going to be okay. Thing is, when you lunge you can’t stay in that same position, you will be giving the enemy the upper hand.” 

Seonghwa almost wished he had a piece of papyrus to be scribbling down notes about knife fighting techniques as Mingi taught him. He would just need to remember, and hopefully, the fact that it would help me out of a life-and-death situation would be motivation enough for the teachings to go into his long term memory. 

Mingi grabbed his own knife, getting into a stance similar to the ones seen in underground street fights. The prince was quick to copy his stance, nervously staring at the eyes which seem to bore into his soul. “When you are in a knife fight, you do not want to be super close to them. They get one hit on you and that could be the end depending on where they stab or slice of course. You need to be agile, and outside of the range of them being able to kick you. What I recommend for you is you go for the hands, you don’t want this fight to go on for a long time because you simply aren’t experienced enough,” Mingi explained, “Now land one on me.”

At this point, the prince’s heart would surely jump out of his chest from how fast it was beating. Sweat was beginning to run down his face, as the sun beat down on the two and while the ship was bustling, he swore it had gone silent. Mingi acknowledged that his sparring partner would not make the first move, he wanted to shake his head dismissively but this would be a way to practice defense then. Mingi moved forward quickly to slice Seonghwa’s side, the brunette’s eyes widened as he jumped out of the way, almost dropping his knife like an idiot. His knuckles were white though from how tightly he held the weapon. 

Mingi continued though, he was not giving the newbie a break as he went for another hit to the brunette’s hands. Seonghwa gasped, his own blade clashing with Mingi’s in a way that sent the other's knife flying and clattering to the wooden deck. The gunner grinned at this, “Yes!” he seemed to shout in victory though he was the one who had lost, he moved forward hugging the cabin boy tightly who smiled in return at the kindness and praise he was receiving. 

“Let’s go again,” Seonghwa stated, the nerves that had originally had their hands wrapped around his throat suffocating him with his own fear now lay deceased, killed by his newfound courage. 

A nod came from Mingi who grabbed his own knife, getting into position once again the two spent the next hours sparring. Members of the crew observed in interest as the new cabin boy held his own against the gunner, who seemed to be laughing at each altercation. Both were covered in cuts by the time Wooyoung waltzed over informing them that they both needed to eat. Mingi laughed once again, wrapping an arm around Seonghwa. “Yeah, yeah we will be down in a second,” the gunner answered for the both of them. 

“Thank you, you know, for teaching me how to actually use this,” Seonghwa stated, lifting his blade up, “I mean I am definitely not as good as you,” the brunette referenced the one cut that was on his cheek, “But I hope one day I can be.” 

“You know you really had me worried. When you first joined us acting all polite and then the next thing I know is you can’t fight. I really thought I would just have to be carrying you each time we got into a fight. Not to mention your reaction to killing that guy. Thing is, you seemed like a joke in my eyes.” 

Harsh words seemed to act as salt for the real cuts Seonghwa had on his skin now, but he understood what Mingi felt and knew that though the words were blunt, the truth held in them was just that, the complete truth. He was a prince, not a fighter. Of course, he was no match for that rogue, and his reaction to that death only further stapled that. “Yeah, that death it really got to me...I didn’t want to kill him.” 

Mingi smiled, “you have a good heart Mars, but...that is going to get you killed. That guy wanted you dead, it was you or him right. Just think, maybe he had a lot to live for but so do you. Learn to be selfish, because in the end to me I believe you had a lot more to offer than that guy anyway. You’re a good one, not many like you on these seas I will tell you that.” 

The tall man moved away, his deep voice seemed to increase the sincerity of his heartfelt words and Seonghwa smiled at him under his mask, trying to resist tearing up at the kindness being shown to him. How had he gone from a prince unable to do anything on his own, to a member of one of the most feared pirate crews? He surely was no match for the crew here, and yet they treated him like an equal. Rubbing his arm, he took a deep breath of the ocean air, of the salty breeze, before making his way towards the stairs to go down to where the mess-hall tables reside on the other side of the bottom deck. 

As he descended, he could hear Yunho shouting at Mingi for getting himself injured and how they should have used sticks, not actual weapons. The once intimidating gunner listened to the ship’s surgeon intently but with apologetic eyes. These guys really felt like a family, the energy was warm like that given off by a fireplace on a cool winter day. 

“Aye! Mars! Yeah you!,” Wooyoung shouted, lips covered in what looked to be some sort of mushroom soup from the smell of it, “Yeah, sit next to me!! Come on~, I am clearly the coolest one here.” 

Seonghwa laughed a bit, removing his mask and shoving it into his pocket. Forgetting for a moment what was at stake beyond this newfound family. Hongjoong observed the prince’s movements with keen eyes, glancing back at Yeosang who looked the mulleted captain knowingly. 

The sea artist placed down the map he had been scribbling on to pick up his spoon and take a bite of his slightly cooled down dinner, “Hmm, he looks so familiar doesn’t he Joong? Like that missing prince.” The captain stared at Yeosang, for he knew that it wasn’t a question being asked him. Rather he was being called out for his actions. 

“He sure does,” the captain muttered, “But I hope you keep that to yourself.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really appreciate the comments left it motivates me to continue, and makes me feel like my writing is good in the eyes of others. Thank you to those who read this.


	8. keep smiling

Finishing his meal early, Hongjoong beckoned for Yeosang to follow him to his quarters. They walked up the creaking wooden stairs and passed the crew’s quarters on their way up. Surveying the ocean around them, they seemed to be alone thus far. No merchant ships, no Navy, no other pirates. Yet, the captain was not about to believe what his eyes were telling him. It was just safer to always assume someone is prepared to ambush the ship, otherwise, they would have been floating bodies in the ocean by now. His own crew had failed to notice their captain leave with the sea artist, too busy interacting with the prince. Sure it brought some sort of wave of relief to him that Seonghwa was not being isolated and judged due to his mannerisms, his crew was far too kind to do that in the first place. But, the risk of their situation was growing every day, and the stress was beginning to dawn on him faster than he would like. 

Hongjoong slid the door of his quarters open so the other could enter, the black hat he wore hiding his dark brown hair. Both pulled down their masks and looked at one another for a brief moment, the awkward silence filling the mulleted pirate’s chest with an increasing amount of tension that made him want to vomit. He did not know how much Yeosang did or didn't know. If he played his cards carefully, maybe the man knew less than the captain originally thought. 

Yeosang pulled out a rolled-up piece of parchment which had been stuffed into the pocket of his black trousers. Presumably, a map, since the sea artist was always scribbling down navigation notes and plotting routes whenever he got the chance. However, as he unfurled the paper the captain took note of the impeccable portrait of the prince he had ever seen. The art looked exactly like him, without the mask or hat his identity was impossible to hide. “I did not know until we stopped off at Angelbay. It is no wonder the rogues found him, he is so recognizable. Not to mention the fact there is a 750k bounty on his head.” 

Grabbing the piece of paper, Hongjoong held it so tightly that his knuckles surely turned that milky white shade. He bit his tongue from letting out a string of curses because he was putting him and his crew in such a vulnerable state for this prince that he impulsively saved. His hand moved to his head, rubbing it and biting his lip. What was he supposed to say after all? ‘Aw shucks you caught me, I have been endangering our lives for that pretty prince.’ He doubted Yeosang was very pleased with his decision. 

“Are you going to expose him?” Hongjoong asked, in that moment while the thought of his crew revolting against him was growing in size, the largest boulder upon his shoulders was the fact that they may want to turn in Seonghwa or throw him overboard. This kind of betrayal was a lot in pirate standards, and lies were not tolerated very well. You lie, you die. Sure the crew had always been a little bit more understanding and honestly overall more intelligent than other pirate crews but that did not mean Seonghwa would be revealed and then live to see another day. 

The other shrugged, placing his hand out to take the wanted poster back. Hongjoong reluctantly gave it back, wanting to shut his eyes while awaiting Yeosang’s response the same way a person closes their eyes in fear when they see a hand moving down to slap them. “I quite like him, but I do not like the fact that you two are lying to me and the rest of the crew. It is wrong and I know you know this Joong. You need to come clean.” 

“Come clean? I know that but it isn’t that easy. What if they want to return him back to the Kingdom of Aurora? He will be killed!” 

Sighing, Yeosang pocketed the wanted poster looking at Hongjoong. “You are putting the life of some royal prince before the lives of this crew which you know would take a bullet for you no questions asked. What the hell are you doing?” 

“He is a member of this crew! He is not a prince when he is aboard this ship, he is a part of this family, of our family. What if this was Jongho, would you want me to simply let him be executed to increase the safety of our whole crew?” 

A glint of anger filled Yeosang’s eyes, as the sea artist scoffed. “Don’t compare Jongho to your pretty prince Hongjoong. We are being tracked as we speak because of him.” 

“You evaded my question.” 

The sea artist rolled his eyes, “I am not going to expose you now, but if something happens to the guys because of this I will kill him myself.” The pirate grabbed the handle of the wooden sliding doors within Hongjoong’s quarters with an unnecessary speed and strength, leaving the quarters before the fight progressed further than it already had. 

Hongjoong sank onto his bed, sighing softly as he tried to formulate how this could work at all but he had already screwed up so badly that every direction he looked, the words “BAD END” seemed to dangle before his eyes teasing him about the future. Thinking back to when he saw Seonghwa enter the bar, he still wouldn’t change saving him. Here he was sacrificing so much for a damn prince. Maybe he had lost his sanity that night. He set the route for Libertatia, if Yeosang was suspecting them being tracked then he needed intel on any such occurrences. He needs to be one step ahead, or they are all as good as dead.

\----

Wooyoung had been laughing up a storm at the table after witnessing Seonghwa spill his meal all over the table. San observed his lover with a sort of admiration that the cabin boy found fascinating, but couldn’t observe for much longer than a few seconds before the need to clean up the mess he had created dawned on him. He grabbed a bucket and mop, filling it sea water, and cleaning up not only his mess but everyone else’s too. His new friends watching in amusement as the cabin boy cleaned up what they should have. 

“Do you like cleaning or something?” Woo asked, grabbing his checklist as he needs to measure the rations the ship has and other supply levels. 

“Hmm, I guess I do. It is nice when everything is tidy, don’t you agree?” 

The blond quartermaster shrugged but carried that signature smirk of his, “I mean sure, but nobody likes to live in mess, but do I like cleaning? Nope. I like leaving the mess for others,” he laughed, his sound of joyous laughter only becoming louder when Seonghwa glanced at him with an annoyed expression. It is ironic for a prince to be cleaning after someone else, after all, he was the one who never had to clean. His maids would be out of work if he did that, nor did it ever cross his mind that he needed to pick up after himself. Ever since he was a child, he was given the things he needed, all except love that is. Thing was, all he wanted was the warmth of love, of family, and being cherished. But instead, he existed in a cold white room, it was so empty even if it carried no worries. No worries until the very end that is, where the string of his life was stretched out to be snipped by the scissors of fate. He wonders if his mother knew when she gave birth to him, that he would live a melancholy existence, absolutely meaningless for almost two decades. 

Woo patted his shoulder, shaking him a bit. “You okay Mars? You zoned out there, looked really sad too. I mean if you don’t want to clean after me I get it, it was a joke. But also I wouldn’t complain if you did clean after me…” 

“Do you know what day it is?” Seonghwa asked softly 

Wooyoung looked at his papers as he didn’t know off the top of his head, “April 1st,” he replied after a few seconds had passed. “It is April Fools’ Day!” The blond suddenly shouted, a grin on his face as he moved to leave the room, leaving a confused Seonghwa still holding the wooden handle of the mop. His cleaning continued on, no one distracting him as he pondered how close to his birthday it was. His father wasn’t even going to let him live until 18, and now he was allowed that opportunity. Tears filled his eyes, as he pushed his cheek against the tip of the mop handle. Sniffling softly, as he failed to hear the creaking of the floorboards behind him. 

“Crying are you?” A voice asked, causing the prince to shout out in fear, the mop dropping to the floor with a loud clatter. The brunette turned to see the mulleted captain, his arms were crossed. Seonghwa quickly rubbed his eyes, wishing he hadn’t been caught. He had been way too emotional lately. Why couldn’t he just be happy about the situation he has found himself in, rather than be so sentimental about it all. 

“Mm sorry, I just finished cleaning up down here. Did you need my help?” 

“Are you okay? What happened?” Hongjoong asked, moving closer to the prince. He had originally come down to find Seonghwa, and have the new pirate help him navigate, seeing as him and Yeosang weren’t on the best terms after their argument. 

Seonghwa shrugged, “I was just thinking about the situation back home. I mean...the only reason I ran away from the castle was because I was going to be executed. My father wasn’t even going to let me live to be an adult, because I serve no purpose to him being alive. But, you saved me and now I will live to be 18. My birthday is in 2 days Hongjoong, and I get to celebrate it because of you. I am forever in debt to you.” 

Hongjoong stared at Seonghwa in shock, hoping no one had heard the cabin boy’s statement as it wasn’t like they were in the captain's quarters, where privacy is guaranteed. Someone very well could have walked in any moment and heard the conversation. “Mars, really there is no need to look at it that way, please just see me as your captain alright? Either way, we shouldn't be discussing this so openly." 

The prince nodded but his eyes carried exhaustion, dotted with glimpses of sorrow. The harshness of reality hadn't hit the beautiful prince quite yet, and Hongjoong wished for him to remain ignorant to it. He damned King Park for ever causing someone so precious to have to experience this new life. One where the prince is on the run for his life, soon to witness bloodshed, and have to fend for himself. But Hongjoong wouldn't let him do it alone, because the prince would surely shatter at handling the pressure of that. Hongjoong would hold the pressure until Seonghwa could handle it, because he felt the desire to protect the brunette with his life. 

Moving closer, the captain smiled and tapped the brunette prince’s chin. “Come with me, I don’t want you sad. You are free remember? Let’s go enjoy the ocean breeze.”

Brown eyes stared at the captain, lighting up at the words. Whatever darkness that had possessed the prince’s thoughts for that moment he spent alone had been cleansed by the man who had rescued him from the bar. Seonghwa carefully put the mop and bucket away, rushing back to Hongjoong’s side to help him with the task he had to find the prince for in the first place. The two made their way back up to where the helm was, Hongjoong handing the prince a large map hoping he could figure out the difficult job of a sea artist, while Yeosang stared at the two from afar. 

“It will all work out my prince,” Hongjoong whispered softly, looking at Seonghwa staring out at the ocean with gleaming white teeth being showed off as he smiled. What had he gotten himself into? 


	9. suffocating tension

Seonghwa haphazardly held a yellowing map covered in notes written by Yeosang. The cool ocean breeze hit his skin, and he grinned underneath the mask he wore. After he witnessed Wooyoung laughing up a storm when his significant other found his little April Fools prank, the amusement was a bit much for the prince, and thus tears of happiness found themselves settled in the corners of his eyes. Hongjoong occasionally glanced at the brunette, smiling to himself, thankful for the masks the crew was required to wear allowing him to hide his smile. But others surely could see it in his eyes if they truly looked hard enough. 

“Keep going in this direction,” Seonghwa stated, glancing intensely at a compass that had been given to him by Hongjoong. It was primarily made of copper and had the words: “Keep Dreaming” engraved on the inside cover. A chain was attached to it that allowed it to be clipped onto the pirate’s trousers so he didn’t have to worry about fishing it out of his pocket or having it fall out while fighting or resting. 

The air felt off to Hongjoong as he sailed toward Libertatia, as he came to realize that being followed was definite. The ship kept a far enough distance that when he used his spy-glass he initially thought it was simply a buoy. But due to their enemies’ mistake of not noticing Hongjoong slow down a bit, he was able to get a bit of a better look and acknowledge sails. No one had the guts to track him, so such occurrences as these were rare and unheard of. Sure he had experienced plenty of it when he had begun the pirating life, but making such a name for himself that people shook in their boots at the idea of him, was enough to keep them safe. 

Though the prince knew little of that, a sort of cleansing feeling that wiped his hands of the blood they had been soaking in for years. But at the same time, guilt was a powerful lurking beast, observing from afar as Hongjoong kept the secrets of his crimes from Seonghwa. The captain turned his head to the right, seeing a ship come into his line of sight, without the help of a spyglass. As they approached Libertatia, the new ship approached them with a steady speed. However, he remained calm, simply acknowledging it for safety precautions but keeping his attention on the prince who leaned against the wooden half-wall in front of the helm. 

The brunette’s eyes were trained on the map, his mask now down as he mouthed the different locations on the map. His hair wasn’t very visible because of the hat he wore, but Hongjoong noticed a few of the brown locks slipping through and falling into the brown eyes of the prince. Time seemed to pass just like this, a calm day where Hongjoong stole glances at the breathtaking prince who had boarded his ship, and the prince occasionally doing the same to the rough-looking pirate captain who secretly knew and smirked underneath the mask he wore. The two were playing a dangerous game, looking at each other with their eyes but having no words shared about what the glances truly mean. They knew in their hearts, and that is what mattered. But such a terrifying meaning was far too much for the minds of two different people with the same idea: ‘Love will never find me.’ Yet it was staring them right in the face. 

“Say, Mars, how was your life prior to when you stumbled into that bar?” Hongjoong spoke up, watching as the prince’s eyes lit up as Hongjoong asked him a question. While the answer wasn’t sunshine and rainbows, the interaction they shared definitely was (to Seonghwa that is). 

He opened his soft kissable lips to answer, and Hongjoong’s grip tightened on the helm as he awaited the answer, because he truly wanted to hear the beautiful angelic voice Seonghwa held, and listen to him to forget all of his woes. But the answer never came, instead, a large CRASH shook the crew in their boots. The color drained from the prince’s face, as he glanced over at the sails of a royal ship, frantically looking for if he could see the Kingdom of Aurora insignia, he had already convinced himself it had to be there, for there was no other Kingdom that desired his body. 

“Fuck,” Hongjoong cussed, slamming his foot down as he yelled for the stations to be manned. He was not one to take down the royals, he didn’t desire a navy after him after all. But he would not go down here, he signed up for this when he saved Seonghwa and he would keep him safe. Mingi glanced over at the mulleted man he knew as captain and was given a nod as an all-clear before running below deck to load the cannons. 

“Are you insane Joong?! We should fucking look to escape, not fight back! That is a royal ship!” Wooyoung shouted the papers the quartermaster had been holding fell out of his hand and scattered to the ground. Staring at the captain with pure confusion, as Yeosang stared past his close friend to their captain, his look all-telling of how he was feeling about the predicament Hongjoong had gotten them in. 

Cannons soared over their heads, and to Seonghwa this was nothing like the first fight. He thought that one was bad, but the smell of gunpowder was suffocating him in this one. His mask was pulled, his eyes down as he made his way to the swivel, and shot as the barrels of gunpowder he could see on the ship. Ears ringing, he coughed a bit to try and wake himself up from the trance he was in. The shot from the swivel gun hit someone, and could hear a pained cry come from the royal ship as the man on it shouted orders, demanding his crew go faster in killing the “mutt pirates.” Seonghwa turned the swivel gun and pulled the trigger. Watching as the only seconds passed, and suddenly the man who had devoted his life to the royals was on the ground. His barking silenced by none other than a royal himself, and Seonghwa was still mortified by his actions, the first time had shocked him but this time left him trembling with guilt and paranoia, that if they didn’t win he would return to his father, lose Hongjoong, and lose his life. 

Wooyoung limped over to the swivel gun, blood on his hand which he placed not so gently on the prince’s shoulder, who turned back to look at his injured friend. A bullet had pierced him real good, and Seonghwa gasped as allowed the quartermaster to lean against him. Bending at the knees he moved to lift the blond-haired pirate, who was bleeding far too much for the liking of the cabin boy. “That was a good shot you took on that asshole,” Wooyoung grinned, blood staining his teeth as he spoke, “Those fuckers can’t do shit without the royals and their guard dogs telling them what to do.” His words were weak but strong. Seonghwa couldn’t help but feel the prince within him curl away at the harsh words, royals were not liked by this crew. He was living a lie, how much longer could he do so?

“Yunho! Yunho!” Seonghwa shouted he failed to notice how slurred his words were by the sobs absolutely choking up his ability to speak coherently. 

The ship surgeon said nothing, he already knew what was the problem as soon as his eyes landed upon Wooyoung. He took the quartermaster and went below deck to tend to the injured pirate. Embers seem to fly through the sky from the burning ship beside them. The smell of victory was that of death, Seonghwa couldn’t help but fall to his knees and puke up his most recent meal.

Yeosang kneeled before the prince, he had been observing the brunette the whole time with disgusted eyes. “This should have never happened, but it is because that idiot Joong is choosing to protect you,” the sea artist muttered, as the sounds of the royal ship capsizing were almost too loud and made the navigator sound muffled. 

Wiping his lips, Seonghwa tried to stand but his legs were shaky and he found himself glued to the floor. “I didn’t ask for this,” He mumbled in reply, feeling deflated as he simply wanted to escape his execution, he didn’t ask Hongjoong to take him in, but his gratitude towards the captain would never die even if Yeosang was upset with him and his existence among their crew. It did hurt his heart whether he liked it or not, he was not strong. He was a prince who had been hidden for almost two decades, Mingi had just begun to teach him how to fight, and his emotions weighed so much on him he wept more than he should as a member of such a tough crew. 

San rushed by, pushing past Yeosang to descend down the stairs to check on Wooyoung. His brows had been furrowed, and he didn’t even spare a glance at the two sharing a conflict. Finding the strength the prince stood up, returning Yeosang’s intense gaze. He despised the tension on the ship, sure they had just ended an almost deadly fight, Wooyoung was injured horribly, but the tension laid between each other. Something was off, everyone knew it at this point. This was too out of the norm, being attacked by a royal ship like this. 

Hongjoong made his way across the ship, rushing to check on Wooyoung because an injured crew member was equivalent to an injured family member. However, Yeosang stuck his arm out before the entrance to the stairs below deck dismissively. His glare remained on the brunette prince for a bit longer before it turned to its next victim of the captain himself. A sigh left the mulleted man’s lips, as he glanced away from Yeosang to see a very perturbed Seonghwa. 

The stress of this all was like the weight of a crushing mountain on his shoulders. He needed to get to Libertatia as soon as possible due to the damage their ship had sustained, his crew was injured some in critical condition like Wooyoung, and his own close friend and sea artist despised him and was threatening to out him in relation to the fact that he saved a royal and was lying to his crew about the identity of said royal. “I don’t have the time for this Yeosang, have your hissy fit another day. Your own best friend is hurt, and you are over here trying to lecture me. I have everything together, why can’t you just fucking give me a chance!” Hongjoong shouted, the words coming out of his mouth before they even crossed his mind. Similar to a pot of water boiling over, the stress had truly gotten to him. 

He pushed past Yeosang’s arm and rushed down the steps to the deck below. Moving to where their makeshift infirmary was near the regular beds, he witnessed Yunho bandaging Wooyoung up carefully. The quartermaster looked completely exhausted, barely managing to stay awake. “How is he?” Hongjoong asked, leaning against the side wall nearby, looking at a puffy-eyed San who was holding Wooyoung’s hand tightly. Sure the two were sharing no words, but a relationship like theirs was one that didn’t require audible communication. He couldn’t help but feel a bit envious of what they shared, because he couldn’t have it so easily like they could. 

Yunho breathed in, allowing a few seconds to pass with his eyes closed. “He will be fine, but he needs time to recover as you understand. As long as I change his bandages daily, no issues should occur. I am assuming we are docking at an island, please dock somewhere with medicine, I’d like to be prepared for the worst-case scenarios.” 

Hongjoong gave a curt nod to the surgeon and doctor of the ship, turning on his heel to quickly exit the room but was stopped by a voice piping up. The voice of their ship carpenter who had listened in on the conversation between the two, despite having his focus deeply set on the one he loves. “Why did we get attacked Joong, we are never attacked by the royals? We sank them, more will find us and hunt us down until all of us are dead,” San asked his former life before joining Hongjoong’s crew seemed to flash before his eyes. Being apart of the royal navy was a shame that followed him, but the memories died as soon as he became a pirate and he would not relive them now. That didn’t mean his experience with the navy wouldn’t come into play, and he knew the effects of sinking a royal ship. He knew they were no longer safe in any waters, no matter how feared Hongjoong is. 

“I don’t know San, but we’ll be okay, I promise.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for the support, apologize for the gap between this update and the last. also, i apologize for any typos you may see, i didn't get a good chance to proof-read this chapter because of my internet going out. i really wanted to publish it asap, so i am using my hotspot to do so haha.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope this was okay and to your liking. The story is just beginning!


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